Circle-iron for wagons



(No Model.) v

N. L. HOLMES.

GIRGLE IRON FOR WAG-ONS.

No. 337,404. Patented Mam. 9, 1886.

NA PE I'ERS. FlwlLilhOgmpher. Washington, D. C.

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NTTE STATES NATHAN L. HOLMES, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN.

CIRCLE-IRON FOR WAGONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,404, dated March 9, 1886.

Application tiled July 11, 1885.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, NATHAN L. HOLMES, of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circle-Irons for Wagons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in circle-irons for wagons; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In a prior application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 148,640, made by me upon the 24th day of November, 1884, a circle-iron is shown and claimed which, instead of being made of one continuous rod or bar, Vis constructed in three separate pieces, comprising two side pieces, connected at their front ends with the hounds and sustained at their rear ends by means of two circle-posts, which are attached to the hounds and support a third transverse piece extending between and attached to the said posts. In the particular form of devices shown in said patent as one desirable way of constructing and attaching a sectional circleiron of the kind above mentioned the circleiron is square in cross-section, and the parts thereof are attached to the posts by engagement with clamping devices upon the latter. Itis sometimes desired, however, to employ round instead of square iron for the circle, and inasmuch as the particular clamping devices illustrated in said patent are not well adapted for holding round iron, and the forging or shaping of the ends of round iron t0 adapt them for engagement with the said clamping devices would involve undesirable expense, means are herein shown and claimed more especially adapted for connecting with the circleposts circle-iron sections of circular cross-section, or those which are round upon their ends.

A device embodying one important feature of this invention consists in a three-part circle-iron and supports therefor, the parts of the circle-iron and the posts being constructed with screw-threaded joints for attachment to each other.

Serial No. 171,280. (No model.)

The invention also embraces other matters, as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a plan view of the axle-hounds and a circle-iron embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one of the posts supporting the circle, taken upon line x x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the upper part of said post, taken upon line x :v of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional View illustrating the connection between the forward end of the circle with the hounds, taken upon line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is asimilar sectional view showing a modified form of the device shown in Fig. 4. Fig.- 6 is adetail view showing another form of the upper part of a post such as is shown in Fig. 1.

As herein illustrated, AAindicate the axlehounds, which are connected at their rear ends by a straight sway-bar, A', B, the circle, herein shown as circular in cross-sectional form, and O O are the posts which support the rear portion of the circle from the hounds, said posts being located at or near the points at which the circle intersects the hounds.

D D are vertical bolts passing through the posts and hounds for securing said posts in place, and E E are castings used for attaching the forward ends of the circle-iron to the hounds.

The circle is composed of three separate pieces, sections, or bars, B BB2, of which the sections B B form side pieces, extending from the front parts of the hounds to the circleposts, and the bar B2 a transversely-arranged part extending between the said posts. The said bar B2 is, as herein shown, made of straight form between its two points of support, but it may be curved to give the usual continuous circular form to the entire circle, if desired.

As far as described, the parts mentioned are constructed, generally, as set forth in the prior application above referred to. In this case, however, the circle-iron being round, means are provided for attaching the parts of the circle to the posts and to the castings E, as follows: The posts C are provided with axial apertures c, through which pass the bolts D, said bolts being headed at their upper ends, and extended through the hounds A and provided with suitable nuts at their lower ends. said posts are constructed, also,with laterally- The IOC

projecting parts or heads C C', provided with l the bars B or B2, so that neither of sa-id bars threaded sockets c', adapted to receive the threaded ends b b of the circle-sections B B B2. The said projections are prefer-ably made to form a continuous curve, and are cast hollow or tubular, to decrease the weight of the posts, the interior diameter of the cavity being desirabl y made somewhat larger than that of the sockets c', so that the screwthreads may be readily cnt in the latter. The construction of the sockets in theparticular manner shown is not, however, essential, inasmuch as the said sockets may be otherwise formed in the posts, or in projecting parts thereof, with the same general results as are obtained by the con-V struction herein shown.

The castings E, by which the parts or bars 3 B of the circle are connected at their forward ends with the hounds, are preferably made with ibrwardly-proj ecting parts E', which are placed against and bolted to the hounds, and are provided at their upper ends with screw-threaded sock ets e, for engagement with the threaded forward ends, Z1, of the bars B B. The inain portions or standards of the said castings are desirably cast hollow, as shown, to decrease the weight of the castings, and to facilitate the threading of the sockets e.

As shown in Figs. l and 5, the sockets e cof the castings E are vertical, and the forward ends of the bars B B bent downwardly to properly engage the sockets. In the fc rm of the casting E shown in Fig. 4, however, the upper end of the said casting is made of curved shape, and the socket e therein is arranged horizontally and in the saine plane with the circle, so that the ends ofthe bars B B'are in this case not bent downwardly.

NVhen the sockets of the posts C are arranged relatively to the bars B B as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the form ofthe castings Eshown in Fig. 5 is preferably used, inasmuch as the engagement of the downwardly bent ends of the said bars with the said castings obviates liability of the bars being turned in their sockets by upward or downward pressure applied to the middle curved portions thereof. In practice, however, the form of casting shown in Fig. 4 may be used by screwing up the parts sufficiently tight to prevent their turning; or, by arranging the sockets c c of the posts at a considerable angle with reference to the sockets e c of the castings Il, the end portions of the bars I3 I will stand at an angle with each other, instead of being nearly or exactly in alignment, and said bars will thereby be prevented froni turning in said sockets.

A construction is shown in Fig. (i in which the section or bar B2 ofthe circle is curved to forni a continuation of the curve of the bars B' B', and the projections G C" of the posts are arranged nearly opposite each other, so as to bring the sockets therein in alignment with the circular curve of the bars B B and B2. In this case it will be observed that the axes of the sockets c will stand at a considerable angle to a straight line, connecting the ends of can be shifted vertically by the turning of their ends in the said sockets.

In the exact construction of the parts herein illustrated the sockets c and e of the posts C and castings E are reamed out or otherwise made smooth in their outer portions to fit the adjacent unthreaded or cylindric portions of the circle-iron sections or bars, so that the threaded parts of the said bars may entirely enter the sockets.

It is often desirable in p litt-ing together the parts of the circle and its supports that the bars B and B2 should be screwed to a greater or less distance into the sockets, in order to accurately adjust the distances between the posts and the castings E, and to bring the parts into proper relative position, and one object of the construction inthe sockets above set forth is to enable this to be accomplished without exposing any portion of the screwth reads thereon. i

Among other advantages of this feature of construction,it will be noted that the entrance of the unthreaded or full-sized portions of the bars into the sockets greatly strengthensthe parts, inasmuch as it oliviates liability of the bars breaking at the points where they are reduced in diameter at the beginning of the screw-thread and where they emerge from the sockets.

The construction described also has the advantage of giving a neater and smoother appearance at the joints between the bars and the sockets than would be the case if a portion of the screw-thread were visible.

It is to be understood that the appended first, second, and third claims are intended to cover the devices therein set forth as one way of carrying out the invention broadly claimed in the first claim of my said prior application, Serial No. 14:8,640.

The features of construction set forth in the appended claims other than those mentioned are, however, capable of use in connection with other forms of circle-irons than the particular one shown in this and in said prior application, and said last-mentioned claims are therefore intended to cover the devices therein set forth without limit-ation to the use of said devices in connection with the particular features of construction in other parts of the device illustrated and described herein. It is to be understood,also,that all of said claims cover the parts or elements set forth therein when said parts are constructed in such manner as to obtain either any or all of the advantages, purposes, or functions obtained by or belonging to said parts or element-s in the particular construction thereof herein shown.

I claim as my invention-- l. rIhe combination, with the hounds of a wagon and two circle-posts for supporting the rear part of the circle from the hounds, of a circle comprising two side bars connected at their front ends with the hounds and at their rear ends with the posts, and a transverse IOO bar located between the said posts, said several bars being attached to the posts by screwconnections, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the hounds of a wagon, of posts, each provided with two screwthreaded sockets,and a circle comprising two side bars and a rear transverse bar, said sev eral bars having their ends screw-threaded and engaged with the said sockets, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the hounds, of two circle-posts for supporting the rear portion of the circle from the hounds, castings E,for connecting the forward ends of the side bars with the hounds, and a circle comprising two side bars and a rear transverse bar, said several bars being connected at their ends with the said posts and castings by screw-threaded joints, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the hounds and a circle made in two or more parts screw-threaded upon their adjacent ends, of a circle post provided with a longitudinal bolt-aperture, and

with screw-threaded sockets to receive the adjacent ends of the parts of the circle, and a bolt inserted through the post and hounds, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the hounds and a circle made in two or more parts, of a circlepost provided with projecting parts C C', cast hollow and provided with screw-threaded Sockets c c', the adjacent ends of the parts of the circle being screw threaded to engage said sockets, substantially as described. v

6. The combination, with the hounds and a circle made in two or more parts screw-threaded upon their adjacent ends, of a circle-post having a longitudinal bolt-passage, c, and provided upon its upper end with lateral projections C C', formed upon a continuous curve, cast hollow and having screw-threaded sockets c c', and a bolt for securing said post to the hounds, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the hounds and a circle screw-threaded upon its forward ends, of castings E, for connecting the circle with the hounds, said castings being provided with parts E, for attachment to the hounds, and having screw-threaded sockets at their upper ends for engagement with the ends of the circle, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the hounds and a circle screw-threaded upon its forward ends, of castings E,for connecting the circle with the hounds, said castings being cast hollow and providedwith screwthreaded sockets e, and having parts E,for attachment to the hounds, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with a circle made cylindric and screw-threaded at its ends, and posts or other supports for the circle, provided with sockets for the ends ofthe circle, said sockets being screw-threaded in a portion of their length only, and constructed to extend over the adjacent unthreaded parts of the circle, substantially as and for either any or all of the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NATHAN L. HOLMES.

Witnesses:

f C. CLARENCE PooLE,

G. F. LANAGHEN. 

